Dislocations and ruptures in the spatial structure of Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

Gyula Horváth’s works about Central and Eastern European countries and their spatial structure inspired the author to review those Hungarian studies of the past 10-15 years which take this big region as their main focus. The study interprets the concept of spatial structure, delimits the boundaries of the region and carries out a two-level evaluation. It also indicates the slow changes occurring in the spatial structure and highlights the considerable differences between its different parts in terms of their competitiveness. Finally, it underlines the emergence of the competitive space and increasing resource concentration in the country capitals as the region’s major spatial characteristics. The study also discusses the communication deficiencies between the regional centers and, thereby, urges for an increased cooperation in spatial planning. It highlights how the automotive industry’s dominance in the core regions can increase the area’s risk of exposure. The paper’s main conclusion is that Central and Eastern Europe will not become a new development zone of the continent and, while the country capitals and certain regional centers with their surroundings might catch up successfully, intra-regional disparities increase with an enormous pace.